tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53504534713660178802018-03-06T13:04:13.374-08:00Music When The Lights Go OutA personal music blog.ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-53681003654283028762015-06-30T17:51:00.002-07:002015-06-30T17:51:55.556-07:00Three life-affirming tracks for summerIf you follow this blog, you might have noticed it's been dead for a while now. Perhaps I should have said "brb, finishing my degree" before I left, so you knew where I was. Well, I'm done! And that means I've got plenty of time for music again, so watch this space. For now, I'll leave you with five life-affirming tracks for summer - three newish ones and two old classics to heat up your July. <p><b>1. Braids, 'Warm Like Summer'</b> <p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GrqpwmzqiU8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>Braids are a Canadian-based post-rock/shoegaze band whose latest album <i>Deep in the Iris</i> was released in April this year, and it's pretty great. On 'Warm Like Summer', soft, restrained vocals soar over a house beat and electronic samples, developing into a gorgeous soundscape which resolves about half way through the song into a melodious, piano-led lament. If you like this one, also try 'Blondie' off the same album. <b><p>2. Grimes, 'REALiTi' (demo)</b> <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N9XKLqGqwLA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>I started listening to this when Grimes put it out a few months ago. Like Braids, it offers a chilled-out, warm vibe and a dance beat. As always, Grimes delivers her lyrics interestingly, placing the stresses in unusual places, spilling each line across the rhythms and creating something beautiful in the process. The video is a bit of a humble brag - as she sings "when I get up, this is what I see, welcome to reality", it's hard not to be jealous of her crazy lifestyle - and her moves. <p><b>3. Desaparecidos, 'Radicalized'</b> <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dIsYc9KQVgs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>Released literally last week, this album track from Desaparecidos' much-awaited second album sees an awesome return to form. The track does exactly what I like punk to do - it has driving guitars, relentless drums, lyrics sung with abandon, and a short, snarling and noisy solo near the end. It's not my fave Desa song, since in their attempt to be more political than ever on this release, they've come up with a few cringeworthy lyrics - on this one, the chorus of repeated chants of "radicalized" feels forced (though nowhere near as awkward as the unironic chants of "you can't stop us, we are anonymous" later in the album). However, it's great to hear people making a genuinely left-wing gesture in the US. <p><b>4. Nick Drake, 'Three Hours'</b> <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eVq789nmETU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>Now for a golden oldie. I found Nick Drake embarrassingly recently through a podcast called 99percentinvisible, a pretty good (if slightly pretentious) way to get into new things. Nick Drake was an English songwriter creating music in the late 60s and early 70s, until his presumed suicide in 1974. Despite that information (and it's really hard to stop that from colouring how you think about his music), 'Three Hours' from his first album <i>Five Leaves Left</i> is not a depressing song: it's pensive and subtle and warm with a slightly psychedelic edge. The beauty of the song is mostly in its delicate balance between Drake's voice, his finger-picked guitar and the skilfully-played double bass. It reminds me of Roy Harper at his most thoughtful. <p><b>5. Paul Weller, 'You Do Something To Me'</b> <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tM1rSTOs7Zs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>One night recently, late, I was watching Vintage TV, an odd little music channel you can get on Freeview. As their name would suggest, Vintage sometimes play dad-rock and Beatles-era pop, but they also have more varied content than other music channels. After midnight, they play a selection of loosely-connected tracks (different each night), amongst which I heard Paul Weller's 'You Do Something To Me', and it... well, it did something to me. I'd forgotten it existed, and the last time I heard it I'd probably never been in love, and so didn't get it. Now I get it. It's one of those near-universal love songs that somehow manages to speak in platitudes and still touch my own experience of love, and of loss. <p>Also, have you noticed, its opening chords sound kind of like Rachmaninov's 'Prelude'? Weird. <Center><iframe width="420" height="80" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YOx710drHnw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-13828271946970125382014-09-22T13:29:00.000-07:002014-09-22T13:29:28.745-07:00Fat White FamilyA housemate pointed out this video to me yesterday and I enjoyed the song and the vid so much, I thought I'd post it here. Fat White Family are a group of guys from London who make music that sounds like Cold War Kids making a porno. <p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vlmDh4LlaKo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-6664254806996394842014-08-07T17:55:00.000-07:002014-08-07T18:08:58.214-07:00Glastonbury festival, 2014So, folks, I've been to Glastonbury! It's often presented in the media as the festival-to-end-all-festivals, and it always gets loads of coverage on TV. You have to buy tickets before the line-up is announced, so investing in Glasto is always a leap of faith - yet, every year, thousands of musicians from across a whole load of genres perform, so it's unlikely that you'll be disappointed. Nevertheless, I had some reservations - not least its nine-mile-square dimensions and the sheer number of people, many of whom (according to the press coverage) like to do this kind of thing: <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MtmBsyTyOXk/Tj7TRdXgEHI/AAAAAAAAAIA/fIpfphePHtE/s1600/444B9B52-FAE6-2A3E-98E864D63EE3FD3F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MtmBsyTyOXk/Tj7TRdXgEHI/AAAAAAAAAIA/fIpfphePHtE/s320/444B9B52-FAE6-2A3E-98E864D63EE3FD3F.jpg" /></a></div><p>Glastonbury was as huge as I imagined - but its hugeness didn't matter all that much. In fact, its hugeness was one of the attractions. I stayed from Wednesday 25th June to the following Monday, and every day, I discovered a new area on the site. Writing up the whole experience would be impossible and a little too self-indulgent even for me, so here are my highlights from Glastonbury 2014. <p><p><b>10. Head-ing to the Healing Field</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.urban75.org/glastonbury/images/glastonbury-festival-058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.urban75.org/glastonbury/images/glastonbury-festival-058.jpg" /></a></div><p>Whilst music is still the main entertainment at Glastonbury, there really isn't any shortage of things to do for those who want to take a break from watching bands. In fact, you could spend your whole festival just chilling in the Healing Fields, where you can book in for massages at 20 or 30 different tents. You could go on a massage crawl - but only if you have a small fortune in your pocket. I was told that these tents ran on donations, but as soon as I got into one, the masseuse made it pretty clear how welcome I'd be if I couldn't pay. I managed to fork out a fiver, a quarter of what she'd asked - but she sighed and went a-head with it anyway. <p><b>9. The dramatic Mr Scruff thunderstorm</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arcadiaspectacular.com/assets/img/whats-new-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.arcadiaspectacular.com/assets/img/whats-new-2.jpg" /></a></div><center><i><p>Image courtesy of AudioCore</p></i></center><p>On Friday, a few of my troupe wandered up to Arcadia, which was on the other side of the festival to our tent, so it was quite a commitment, all in honour of Mr Scruff. If you think you don't know Mr Scruff, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS_CLIF1h-o">try this video</a> and you might realise you do. <p>The feature piece of the Arcadia section at Glastonbury is the massive metal spider (pictured above) which spews fire at night, a spectacle which everyone on high ground can see - and it is wildly impressive, even from afar. But at a festival renowned for its thunderstorms, a giant metal structure on a hill isn't the best choice for a main attraction. As the dark clouds gathered, crowds umm'ed and aah'ed at the distant lightning, but the show was put off for around an hour while the storm passed over. In the meantime, the warm-up DJ stayed on a smaller stage and played music, while it began to rain. Torrentially. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COJ2C88Exqc/U-Psd66HK0I/AAAAAAAAAag/LLwQQ5alazk/s1600/daisy+outshines+a+rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COJ2C88Exqc/U-Psd66HK0I/AAAAAAAAAag/LLwQQ5alazk/s200/daisy+outshines+a+rainbow.jpg" /></a></div>I managed to dart into a backstage area in all the confusion, sheltering in a booth with a load of stray PR teams, but joined my friends reluctantly in the half-shelter of the bar tent when I realised we'd been separated. The rain went on and on, so we decided to brave the open air again, dancing ecstatically in the sodden field like pagans worshipping Mother Nature. Eventually, Mr Scruff started on the small stage, and the sun returned, giving rise to an impressive rainbow. We regretted our carefree attitudes later when we couldn't get our clothes dry. <p><b>8. The Radiohead/Rodrigo y Gabriela moment</b><center><p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/DfExAbVUArE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>I'm the first to admit that my iPod can look a little strange from a beginner's point of view. On the alphabetised artist list, Rodrigo y Gabriela, the talented percussive guitarists, are followed by Radiohead, the world-conquering experimental prog-rockers. Despite having normalised this juxtaposition in my listening life, it was still surreal when Rodrigo stopped playing his wordless Latin tracks and asked the crowd, "Don't you know anything?!", before launching into a cover of Radiohead's 'Creep'. The crowd joined him enthusiastically, but he didn't really need their help - Rodrigo was a pretty great singer. A <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/errnc8/acts/awzmxj#p021wg76">sound recording</a> should be available from the BBC's website, and I've posted below a video of the crowd-pleaser 'Tamacun' above. <p>If you love Rodrigo y Gabriela's virtuoso style, I went to see another great percussive guitarist on the Sunday up at the Toal Hall tent, a small stage which showcased a lot of alternative folk and acoustic music. <a href="http://chriswoodsgroove.co.uk/">Chris Woods Groove</a> played a relaxed, entertaining set there, beginning with very few people to play to, but attracting people as he played. He's definitely worth a listen. <p> <p><b>7. Mark Steel asking us why we weren't at Dolly Parton</p></b><p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BiT5iEoNzU0/U-P0hBkf52I/AAAAAAAAAa8/EqVYJvNMaoI/s1600/dolly+parton+crowd+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BiT5iEoNzU0/U-P0hBkf52I/AAAAAAAAAa8/EqVYJvNMaoI/s400/dolly+parton+crowd+shot.jpg" /></a></div><p>On the Saturday of the Glasto weekend, Mark Steel was scheduled to perform a comedy stand-up set at the same time Dolly Parton was making headlines on the Pyramid stage. He tweeted: <blockquote>Such torture. I'll have to leave Dolly Parton, to do my own show, which will be to the sort of people who didn't want to see Dolly Parton.</blockquote>Being offensive about your audience seems to go down well on the left (see: Stewart Lee) but I in fact watched both Mark Steel and a bit of Dolly Parton - I spent a few minutes at the back of a 70,000 strong crowd by the main stage before thinking "Sod it, it'll start raining soon and then everyone will wish <i>they</i> were in a tent too". While I was there, I caught 'Jolene', though most of the sound was blocked out by people at the back chanting "TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP!". The iconic songs were so far in the distance that you could barely hear them. Amazingly, the sound desk did turn it up, but I'd had enough of feeling like I was at an American Butlin's, so I made my way to the Left Field tent and watched Mark Steel. He proceeded to chastise us all for not being at Dolly Parton - I genuinely think he would have tolerated an empty tent in homage to the great lady he was truly traumatised to miss. <p>Mark Steel is, it turns out, quite a funny comedian. However, the real success story of this year's Left Field was Francesca Martinez, a disabled comedian who managed to get us all reflecting on our privileges in life without feeling too shit, while being (arguably) funnier than any of the other comedians I saw there. The audience were friendly too - no ableist heckling, and a generally supportive atmosphere. <b><p>6. tUnE-yArDs giving us the Powa</b><p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eNj4M8it80U/U-QDLR4gb2I/AAAAAAAAAbs/rNH_0LJ7q2o/s1600/p021sh77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eNj4M8it80U/U-QDLR4gb2I/AAAAAAAAAbs/rNH_0LJ7q2o/s400/p021sh77.jpg" /></a></div><p>I used to listen to tUnE-yArDs all the time, and I still pause to appreciate the high note in 'Powa' every time it comes up on shuffle. By the time the tUnE-yArDs were on stage, my boots were hugged by a crust - no, a platform - of mud, so thick that I had to dance stock-still like someone trying to wriggle free of quicksand. Needless to say, I totalled those boots (R.I.P. their blessed soles). Nevertheless, the high note in 'Powa' (4:40 on the album version) was remarkable and I don't regret <i>in the slightest</i> how ridiculous I must have looked. If it's all still online, you should be able to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/errnc8/acts/amcbj5#p021wj34">relive my near-religious experience here</a>. I don't enjoy the kindergarten-theme Merrill Garbus stages, but it's certainly very different from most female artists' highly sexualised performances. Maybe that's what she's going for. <b><p>5. Fine alfresco dining</b><p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kp0ghgwnws/U-QVPRWhRCI/AAAAAAAAAcg/DyVqx4zDj2I/s1600/square+pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kp0ghgwnws/U-QVPRWhRCI/AAAAAAAAAcg/DyVqx4zDj2I/s320/square+pie.jpg" /></a></div><p>Oh my God the food. Glastonbury has a reputation for having better food than most festivals, but that really isn't a hard title to win. At Sonisphere, I felt ill most of the time from the £6 noodles, and at YNot, I ate two lunches because the first just wasn't nice enough to finish (well, that's how I've reconciled it to myself, so we'll stick with that explanation). At Glastonbury, I was in a perpetual battle with my self-control and my wallet, and I spent as much time looking forward to the next meal as looking forward to bands. My personal highlight was <a href="http://www.squarepie.com/">Square Pie</a>, but there were food outlets lining every major walkway in the festival, in a scene which could have been sickeningly consumerist, but which actually looked like a funfair for the tastebuds. We had pizzas, pies, thai green curries, burritos, roasted nuts, churros and chocolate, curry, soup, fish and chips... and that was just the Friday! No, I'm kidding, but it was tempting. The worst meal was a bacon bap served by a tetchy Welshman on the morning we were leaving, but he was probably cross because he knew his bacon bap was crap compared to literally everything else you could eat there. I would have killed for that bap at Sonisphere though. The Glasto food was in a league of its own - the one-team Premiership of Festival Food. <b><p>4. Showering with a lot of ladies, some Ecover* and no clothes at all</b><p>This one has no picture. Sorry guys (which covers boys, men, lesbians, bisexuals, queer people - none of whom were covered in the Greenpeace showers). If you find going a week without washing disturbing, you may well have deep psychological scars after Glastonbury; furious zipped-tent sessions with wetwipes just aren't enough to deal with the sheer volume of mud, sweat, beer spills, rain and puddle water that you encounter at Glasto. Whilst most of my friends thought wetwipes did a good enough job, I trekked out on the Sunday morning to the communal shower. I'd not showered naked with other people, even of the same sex, since pre-puberty; though I know nakedness is the most natural state of humanity, I was... well, shy. But I'd had enough, and it's amazing how normal abnormal things can seem when everyone's doing them. So, I stripped off and spent a lot of time staring at the ground so as not to embarrass anyone, but afterwards I felt surprisingly liberated. <p>The beauty industry makes us paranoid by providing the only source of information about other people's bodies, showing us slim, hairless, shapely nakedness, even if it means photoshopping their pictures to all Hell. So, being amongst other women's bodies, candidly but without objectification, felt like a really radical yet simple resistance to advertising propaganda. I think the alternative-lifestyle feeling this gave me is representative of the wider atmosphere at Glastonbury - you could buy everything from eco-friendly deodorant and reusable tampon sponges to craft items made from recycled materials. Though the cynics dismiss this stuff as quaint hippy lifestyle politics, I think it's really inspiring that people are choosing to do their best to halt our global climate crisis in the face of seeming impossibility, whilst fostering healthier relationships between human beings. I left Glasto feeling oddly hopeful, where I usually leave festivals feeling a bit misanthropic. <P>*If you're wondering what Ecover is, it's an eco-friendly body and hair-washing gel which people were reluctantly using, on the orders of the woman who cleaned and managed the shower block. She <i>was</i> a dictator, but a benign one. <p><b>3. Nights out at Block 9</b><p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wb2KjS_II4Y/U-QCKZu9HTI/AAAAAAAAAbg/5VmmMUiycZw/s1600/block+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wb2KjS_II4Y/U-QCKZu9HTI/AAAAAAAAAbg/5VmmMUiycZw/s400/block+9.jpg" /></a></div></p><p>At one end of Glastonbury's remarkable site, there is a section dedicated to late-night clubbing sessions - Shangri-La (which is split into areas called 'Heaven' and 'Hell'), the Unfairground and Block 9 make up a ferocious trio of nighttime resorts. Each of them is themed to the hilt - the Unfairground has a slightly disturbing Trainspotting-chic going on, with scary broken dolls and enormous skinless horses hanging from the tops of rides. Parents pushing buggies soon turned back when they saw the Unfairground - this was not a place for small children. Shangri-La Hell is plastered with red paint and plays only the most hardcore club music late into the night. At one venue, you had to have a tattoo to get in - either real or fake - and if it was real, you got in for free. I'll elide Heaven because I'm an atheist and so I'll never get there anyway. <p>Block 9 (pictured above) was my favourite of the three zones. Designed to feel like a urban inner city after the apocalypse, its towering buildings, including the 'London Underground' and the 'Hotel', look like buildings caught in the act of being demolished, coughing up smoke and giving off eerie green and red light. During the evening, stand-up acts and bizarre artists gave cabaret-like performances on the stage placed in the Hotel's gaping second-floor, but at night, the whole place became a queue for the clubs tucked up behind these elaborate façades. In the damp, dark interior of the London Underground building, the DJ played endless house music to thousands of high people. I danced, not high but loving it anyway. The air was nearly solid with heat, damp and glitter. A couple of my friends chose to repeat this every night, but I wanted to focus on the music (and, frankly, get to sleep before the guys in the tents behind us started chatting shit through the early hours). <p><b>2. Shedding a Teardrop to Massive Attack</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUnypay7nQU/U-QK1BnY6TI/AAAAAAAAAb8/PwQaK5MlU7M/s1600/glasto-6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUnypay7nQU/U-QK1BnY6TI/AAAAAAAAAb8/PwQaK5MlU7M/s320/glasto-6.png" /></a></div><center><i><p>Image courtesy of d3 Technologies</i></center><p>Massive Attack were the one band I swore this Glasto that I wouldn't miss - everything else was negotiable, but Massive Attack were my baseline demand. I turned up just as it was getting dark, and pretty much all of my friends were there, gathered at the back of the crowd. Unlike at Dolly Parton, being at the back for this was more therapeutic than disappointing, since it meant you had space around you, a sense of the overall atmosphere, and couldn't be distracted by the words and images flashing up across Massive Attack's backdrop. The messages were political and charged with meaning, but that's something for me to explore in the BBC recordings of the set. While I was there, I just basked in the gorgeousness of 'Paradise Circus', possibly my favourite track ever, and the perfectly-delivered melodies of 'Teardrop'. I'd say it was my second favourite performance of the weekend. <p><b>1. Enjoying The Beat</b><p>The award for my favourite performance goes to The Beat. The Beat are a Birmingham-based band, some of whom my parents knew when they were young adults living in Handsworth. Their sunny ska sums up their scene perfectly - the racial politics were tense in the 80s but there was a lot of solidarity and unity between black people and the white community, especially the younger generations and the left-wingers. In opposition to societal racism and fascist groups like the National Front, bands like The Beat and The Specials made fiercely political music in racially-mixed groups of performers, fusing the musical styles of reggae and punk rock. The Beat's music is relentlessly upbeat, angry but also joyous, and their happiness onstage is infectious - every single person in the crowd at Glasto was dancing and the crowd was huge.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsOFP7LXdqg/U-Qbbk1UqTI/AAAAAAAAAcw/Ml5CF0LsD9I/s1600/fest300.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsOFP7LXdqg/U-Qbbk1UqTI/AAAAAAAAAcw/Ml5CF0LsD9I/s320/fest300.jpeg" /></a></div><p>I went to see them thinking they'd pass the time, but within three songs they were the highlight of the festival - lead singer Ranking Roger bounced about the stage, performing the staged but seemingly spontaneous act alongside his son, Ranking Junior, who you may remember from the Ordinary Boys track 'Boys Will Be Boys'. Their performance was absolutely flawless, and their messages of unity and love made me realise how little love there is in my own politics. If only we could combine anger at the state of things now with this overwhelming enthusiasm and pleasure, perhaps we could attract more people to an otherwise very intimidating movement. I grinned right through tracks like 'Stand Down Margaret' (which united people in the 80s around the hope that maybe, if a ska band asked nicely, Margaret Thatcher might step down from her role as Prime Minister). They also did a great cover of 'Rock the Casbah' in honour of Joe Strummer, and ended the set with an extended version of 'Mirror in the Bathroom', a truly brilliant track about the hedonistic narcissism of wealthy city-dwellers. <p>I wish I'd taken a photo of the photographer who was bouncing about in front of the stage - I've never seen a paid professional having such a damn good time at work. If you don't know much about The Beat, I've put a few of my favourites below for your delectation (under the name 'The English Beat', which is what they're known as in the US). <p><center><object width="250" height="300" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsPlaylist9998108353" name="gsPlaylist9998108353"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/widget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&playlistID=99981083&p=0&bbg=edaf45&bth=edaf45&pfg=edaf45&lfg=edaf45&bt=ffffff&pbg=ffffff&pfgh=ffffff&si=ffffff&lbg=ffffff&lfgh=ffffff&sb=ffffff&bfg=050303&pbgh=050303&lbgh=050303&sbh=050303" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/widget.swf" width="250" height="300"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&playlistID=99981083&p=0&bbg=edaf45&bth=edaf45&pfg=edaf45&lfg=edaf45&bt=ffffff&pbg=ffffff&pfgh=ffffff&si=ffffff&lbg=ffffff&lfgh=ffffff&sb=ffffff&bfg=050303&pbgh=050303&lbgh=050303&sbh=050303" /></object></object></center> <p>So, that's it. As my friends and I cleared our little campsite, folding away our tents and dumping our rubbish at the nearest bins, it was amazing to think what the festival had been just hours before. Tents had left dirty yellow patches across the fields of Michael Eavis' land; people trudged through the drizzle along muddy walkways in the annual exodus. We didn't get caught in traffic for long, and soon me and two of my much-loved schoolfriends were in Derby getting tattoos, a symbol of our friendship, of the year of our 21st birthdays, and of our first Glastonbury. The same cynics who will dismiss Glasto as hippy rubbish will dismiss my tattoo as sentimental and foolish, but for me it's a little reminder of being young and idealistic and still in love with music. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HwKjMoPM50/U-QM96G6pxI/AAAAAAAAAcM/Pow5-6MgYtc/s1600/glasto1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HwKjMoPM50/U-QM96G6pxI/AAAAAAAAAcM/Pow5-6MgYtc/s320/glasto1.jpg" /></a></div> <i><center>Image courtesy of David Hodges</i></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-30061047993952943472014-04-14T17:44:00.000-07:002014-04-14T17:47:53.129-07:00Alternative Picks from the '90sA few days ago, I took a trip into Derby, where there is a CD shop which puts HMV to shame. I hadn't heard of That's Entertainment before I moved to Derbyshire, but apparently, there are branches in <a href="http://www.thatsentertainment.co.uk/store_information.asp">lots and lots of UK towns</a>. They say on their website you can "choose from over 1/2 million different titles", and almost all of them seem to be stocked in Derby. It's the only place I've ever found where you can get Sonic Youth, Pavement and Elliott Smith CDs on a "3 for £5" deal, or compilations of Cuban music, ska and punk for 99p each. Sure, they're free on the net, but if you buy them in physical form, you get the reassurance of a) legality, b) a decent bitrate, and c) not getting a virus. (My latest virus came in download form from a St. Vincent track, which was a double whammy of punishment, since Annie Clark and I had had a really tense and awkward interview a few days before. If you want to see how I tried to weave one-word answers and impotent silences into a passable article, you can <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2014/03/09/st-vincent-a-witness-to-a-digital-age/">click here</a>.) <p>Amongst my haul from That's Entertainment this time round were some seriously great albums, so I've decided to do a new-to-me music round-up. <p><b>Beck - <i>Midnite Vultures</i> (1999)</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KMQO0HMPms4/U0x94-fjUxI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Sn_ZH5hF1Ls/s1600/midnite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KMQO0HMPms4/U0x94-fjUxI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Sn_ZH5hF1Ls/s200/midnite.jpg" /></a></div><p>Aside from having an album cover that is the most nineties thing I have ever seen, <i>Midnite Vultures</i> is Beck on form (unlike the Beck of this year - <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2014/03/09/its-time-for-a-mourning-phase/">in my opinion</a>, <i>Morning Phase</i> is a drab and dreary record). <i>Midnite Vultures</i> sees Beck in his funky-technicolour-sound-alchemist guise. Beck in 1999 was playful, loud and experimental, "transcending genres as he reinvents them", as my partner puts it (ironically, I think). I was way too young in 1999 to enjoy lead single 'Sexx Laws' the first time round, but it has an eerie familiarity... perhaps it's so catchy it infiltrated my 6-year-old subconscious. <p><center><iframe width="420" height="60" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IQfwgzoiq4c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p><b>Elliott Smith - <i>Either/Or</i> (1997)</b><P>Though released in the full swing of the nineties, Elliott Smith's 1997 offering <i>Either/Or</i> doesn't come from the same mental space as <i>Midnite Vultures</i>. It's a dark and stormy record, yet it has moments of melodic brightness and lyrical optimism which seem to contradict the image Elliott Smith has gained in the media. If you don't know Smith, he's widely seen as one of music's most tragic figures - in 2003, when he was 34, he was found dead at his home with two stab wounds to the chest. The death was presumed to be a suicide, but the official autopsy report suggested it could have been a murder. The circumstances surrounding his death are uncertain to this day, and I suppose the mystery keeps people inquisitive, and listeners continue to seek evidence one way or the other in his music, particularly in the album <i>From a Basement on the Hill</i> (2004), a posthumous release of his last few songs. I like <i>From a Basement on a Hill</i>, but I've been listening more to <i>Either/Or</i>, which has a Bright Eyes-esque subtlety to it, though breaks into serious grunge grittiness on 'Cupid's Trick'. 'Cupid's Trick' is the music of primal revelations, especially at 0:24, when the oscillating guitar and newly invigorated bass kick in for the first time, and at 1:39, where there's one of those gorgeous imprecise guitar solos that can only be found in noise rock. <p><center><iframe width="420" height="60" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4525c9auMi4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p><b>Buena Vista Social Club - 'Chan Chan' (1999)</b><p>I also bought an album of Cuban music, partly because I'm learning Latin American Spanish right now (several countries there are the political equivalent of El Dorado for leftists at the moment) and partly because I think the musical tradition of Central and South America is fantastic, right through from traditional Latin dance music, jazz-tango and Tropicália to modern fusions like the music Rodrigo y Gabriela make. The Cuban album I bought is embarrassingly called <i>The Best Cuban Album in the World... Ever!</i>. I cringed, but I took it at its word and bought it, and it definitely has a few brilliant tracks (though I'll have to listen to every Cuban album in the world to make sure it meets the Trade Descriptions Act). 'Amor Verdadado' ('True Love') is a jaunty and uplifting song, and Machito's 'Tango' proves that a cacophony doesn't have to be unlistenable. My favourite track on the album is 'Chan Chan', a Cuban folk song about a man walking from town to town in Cuba, telling an old (and slightly raunchy) story to the people he meets. Despite liking pretty much every version, my favourite is the 'Chan Chan' recorded by the Buena Vista Social Club, so I've Youtubed that for you - it's laid-back and drenched with atmosphere, and the instrumental solos which start at 2:37 show how beautiful Cuban cadences can be. <p><center><iframe width="420" height="60" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tnFfKbxIHD0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>. <p>Having written this, I realise that all of these picks are from the '90s, so I'll throw in a final gem from 1997, Belle and Sebastian's 'Dog on Wheels', a twee lo-fi classic (and it also means you get to watch a video, another distraction from whatever you're meant to be doing right now). Enjoy! <p><center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UdQBXj6vV-M?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-50712958476887057652014-02-02T09:09:00.000-08:002014-02-02T09:09:52.270-08:00Punk and politics collide - or should that be 'clash'?One of the best politically-charged bands of today takes on a classic from one of the best politically-charged bands of yesterday. Desaparecidos doing a live cover of The Clash's 'Spanish Bombs'. Great stuff. <P><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0rA-9r0d4EY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-4584855253793541802014-01-15T06:31:00.002-08:002014-04-14T17:49:51.251-07:00January Musical DigestI've got some musical delights from the recent past (and near future) for you this week. <p><b>1. Summer Camp</b><p>In October 2013, the married duo Summer Camp released their second album<i> Summer Camp</i>, which is a lovely set of synth-driven indie-pop songs. Despite sounding light and bright and breezy initially, the album's actually quite melancholy, and in places deeply miserable. 'Fighters', for example, is a story of complicated domestic abuse, and several of the tracks (including the otherwise warm-sounding 'Two Chords') are heart-rending break-up songs. Here's 'Fresh', a single with an impressive video in which the lead singer has to lip-sync backwards, somehow. <p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wF7OC4h0jBE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p><b>2. Sky Larkin</b><p>Sky Larkin are definitely not new to this blog, but they've made a pretty good third album since I last enthused about them, so I'll give it a plug. The album is quite varied, a lot richer musically than Sky Larkin's debut <i>The Golden Spike</i>, but also darker. The album's opener, 'Motto', was a great choice for a first single, showcasing both the album's riff-driven pop-rock side and its more texturally diverse, noise-rock side. <p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/i04gP99hJE4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p><b>3. Peggy Sue</b><p>In a surprise turn of events, a PR agent sent me a free download of Peggy Sue's new album this week (another reason for music fans to dip into music journalism whenever they can). I'd never heard of them before then, but I'm glad I have now - <i>Choir of Echoes</i> is a collection of beautifully-written folk songs with a bluesy edge which have got themselves lodged in my head since I first listened to the album about a week ago. The video for 'Idle' is below, and if you enjoy that, I'd recommend listening to 'Esme' and 'Substitute' (when the album comes out on the 27th, that is). <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nCaj4eMl5O8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><p>That's all for now, folks. Happy new year. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-29333858903722837942013-11-30T08:41:00.001-08:002013-11-30T08:41:47.885-08:00It's been a while - Jamie Lenman, of Montreal, Pavement, Young Knives and othersSince I last posted an age ago, I've been atrociously busy at uni, so I've not had time to write a blog. Technically, I don't really have time now, but music's so much better than essay-writing. <p>Exciting news - last month, I had the chance to interview Jamie Lenman again! My last interview was a rushed emailer in 2009, so it was exciting to actually get a phone call with him, during which he was achingly affable and a really good interviewee. <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/11/14/47262/">Read the interview here if you want.</a> As usual, I've had an atrocious and near-irrelevant title edited onto the article (I really should make the effort and write them myself), so please don't blame me for that. Jamie's new album is very good, especially the second half. Fans of metal may prefer the first half, but I don't think it really shows off Jamie's melodic and harmonic skills as well as the second - because he's split the album into 'Muscle' and 'Memory', the 'Muscle' half lacks the dynamic and contrasts which make tracks like 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' so beautiful. If you're a die-hard Reuben fan, by the way, and you want the full transcript of the interview which the article above is based on, comment and I'll send it to you - he says a lot more about Reuben and his solo stuff than I have the chance to mention in the article. <p>As well as interviewing Jamie, I've talked to the Young Knives this month, <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/11/07/album-review-nightmare-visions-from-young-knives-latest-release/">reviewed their album</a> and <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/11/14/young-knives-stay-arty-at-cellar/">been to their Oxford gig</a>. Also since my last post, of Montreal have released an album - a great one. <i>Lousy with Sylvianbriar</i> is a departure for them in that it isn't as expansive and avant-garde as <i>Paralytic Stalks</i>, or as party-drugged and electronic as <i>Skeletal Lamping</i>. It's got quite a 60s vibe going on, actually, and it has some great album artwork too. I'll post a couple of tracks here. <p><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong3989448586" name="gsSong3989448586"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=39894485&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=39894485&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=of%20Montreal%20She%20Ain't%20Speakin'%20Now" title="She Ain&#39;t Speakin&#39; Now by of Montreal on Grooveshark">She Ain&#39;t Speakin&#39; Now by of Montreal on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object><p>'She Ain't Speaking Now' has a lot in common with earlier of Montreal material - 'Coquet Coquette' has a similar guitar-driven style, and the melodies and lyrics are recognisably Kevin Barnes' work. The chorus broaches great new territory though, and the production is a lot cleaner than on earlier records. <p><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong3989447761" name="gsSong3989447761"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=39894477&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=39894477&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=of%20Montreal%20Belle%20Glade%20Missionaries" title="Belle Glade Missionaries by of Montreal on Grooveshark">Belle Glade Missionaries by of Montreal on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object><p>'Belle Glade Missionaries' is Barnes at his wackiest and most incisive lyrically, but the tune has a jaunty Americana feel which hasn't been present on many of of Montreal's more recent releases. It's a long track but it's insanely catchy from beginning to end, and works with its fairly conventional bluesy chord progressions really innovatively. And it's fun. <p><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong3989447883" name="gsSong3989447883"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=39894478&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=39894478&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=of%20Montreal%20Sirens%20of%20Your%20Toxic%20Spirit" title="Sirens of Your Toxic Spirit by of Montreal on Grooveshark">Sirens of Your Toxic Spirit by of Montreal on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object><p>Finally, I'll post 'Sirens of Your Toxic Spirit'. Because of his way with melody, Kevin Barnes writes really great 'slow' songs - 'Touched Something's Hollow' is really addictive, and a lot of<i> Hissing Fauna</i> gets the haunting atmosphere spot-on too. Rebecca Cash's complementary backing vocals add a new layer of richness to the of Montreal sound, which really works on this track. <p>Besides these three, I've been listening to quite a bit of Pavement recently, so I just thought I'd post 'Embassy Row' without passing comment... other than to say it's fantastic and uplifting and great. <p><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong3682464133" name="gsSong3682464133"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=36824641&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=36824641&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=Pavement%20Embassy%20Row" title="Embassy Row by Pavement on Grooveshark">Embassy Row by Pavement on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-6109792499876409232013-09-26T16:41:00.001-07:002013-09-26T16:41:26.982-07:00A reminder of how good Reuben were (and a bit of Biffy)For proof of how brilliant Reuben could be in their genre, I've dug up the cover they did of Vex Red's 'Karin'. Vex Red were a fairly small band on the same sort of scene as Reuben in the early 00s, but they disappeared even sooner. 'Karin' is a decent piece of songwriting, but only ever made it to demo stage, so it's a bit sketchy and not particularly well padded-out. Reuben heard this: <p><iframe width="250" height="40" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ankReDK_pvQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <P>And turned it into this: <p><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong3361628794" name="gsSong3361628794"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=33616287&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=33616287&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=Reuben%20Karin" title="Karin by Reuben on Grooveshark">Karin by Reuben on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object> <p>I may be biased, but the energy and innovation in that cover, even with simpler rock instrumentation and the same riffs, is exceptional. <p>While we're on covers, I feel I should re-post the wackiest hard rock cover in existence. Ever heard Weezer's melodic gem 'Buddy Holly'? If not, or if it's just a faint memory, here's a reminder: <P><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong2632354922" name="gsSong2632354922"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=26323549&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=26323549&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=Weezer%20Buddy%20Holly" title="Buddy Holly by Weezer on Grooveshark">Buddy Holly by Weezer on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object> <p>Now take everything you'd just heard, tear it up and listen to this: <p><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong3002983175" name="gsSong3002983175"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=30029831&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=30029831&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=Biffy%20Clyro%20Buddy%20Holly%20(Weezer%20cover)" title="Buddy Holly (Weezer cover) by Biffy Clyro on Grooveshark">Buddy Holly (Weezer cover) by Biffy Clyro on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object> <p>"Suck on that!" as Simon Neil almost certainly said after recording that guitar part.ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-62171423118440115142013-09-23T17:09:00.003-07:002013-09-23T17:17:36.397-07:001/3 of Reuben returnThis evening, I got an unanticipated, excitable call from my boyfriend. "JAMIE LENMAN'S RELEASING A NEW ALBUM". We like Reuben, the band Lenman fronted a few years ago, and any signs of life in the band members have excited us ever since. Reuben were amongst the hardcore bands to rise in the early 00s with Biffy Clyro, Hundred Reasons and Hell is for Heroes, and they were also one of those rare bands who break up but then don't stop gathering fans. My boyfriend and I nearly booked tickets to 2000 Trees festival this year because there were rumours Reuben would perform. It was unlikely, and as expected, it didn't happen. But now, news - on 4th November, their lead singer and main ego is releasing new music. <p>When I interviewed Jamie Lenman 4 years ago, he told readers to "Watch this space!" if they wanted to hear some solo material. Well, it's been a lot of watching, but today we've got what we were waiting for. The promotional bumf is extremely polished: Jamie's gone for the waxed-moustache look (I don't think that's a viable look, but he pulls it off - or rather, I wish he would); an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=700716489941934&set=a.700716486608601.1073741833.209245895755665&type=1">album release on CD and vinyl is planned</a>; <a href="http://www.jamielenman.com">a new website has already been rolled out</a>, and the new video is seamlessly and stylishly directed. In other words, this hasn't come about sketchily. Fans have spent the last 5 years examining and debating every bale of tumbleweed passing through the desert Reuben left behind, watching that space with hawks' eyes, so this onslaught of information was a shock to the senses. Within half a day, the new video has been shared by over half of the people who've liked it on Facebook - there may not be millions of them, but these people are seriously dedicated. <p>So can the new tracks impress fans who've waited 5 years for Jamie to put down his sketching pencils (<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/profile/jamie-lenman">he was an illustrator for the Guardian</a> for a while) and pick up a guitar? Well, primarily, the surprise is the genre Lenman's chosen - or should that be <i> genres</i>? His new album appears to be half hardcore, half "jazz-folk", and the new video (below) showcases both styles to great effect. The wit on the second track, 'Pretty Please', is characteristic Lenman - with simple lyrics, a light-hearted edge and unabashed catchiness, it's more 'pop' than anything Lenman's released before, but anyone who listened to 'Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassin' on the last album could have sensed something shifting. It's <i>very </i>different though. If we're to believe Jamie actually played as many instruments on the track as the video suggests, then he's branched out dramatically - from drummer, guitarist and vocalist to double-bass aficionado and trumpet player? Bravo. <P>The cry of the track is "validate me! Oh pretty please. Validate me, yeah." It's probably no coincidence that Xtra Mile & Jamie have chosen to release that particular song as a single. So far, the Youtube comments and wider response seem to validate him very nicely. <P>The track opening the video is a lot more like Jamie as manifested on Reuben tracks. The atmospheres of the two halves neatly represent the singer's seeming dual personality - he's brooding, dark and able to inject real anger into recordings, but (previously outside of the studio) also has an immense sense of humour and playfulness. See what you think, anyway. For me, Maggsy321 summarised the feelings of today perfectly: "The only thing that could ruin one of﻿ the happiest days of my life is the stupid fucking moustache." <center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yGHHZdqywNA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-90393322539269610782013-08-30T18:06:00.000-07:002013-08-30T18:13:36.782-07:00David Byrne & St. Vincent @ Birmingham Symphony Hall, 28/08/13This week, I took a trip down to the Birmingham Symphony Hall to see David Byrne play - since I've moved out to the countryside, every gig is a decent distance away, but that means that I get to go to a hotel and turn each gig night into an 'experience' - it's expensive, but it makes every event into something a bit more unique. Famed solo avant-guardian and lead singer of the '70s band Talking Heads, Byrne's currently touring a new record that he produced with St. Vincent (A.K.A. Annie Clark), an experimental artist in her own right. <p>A couple of years ago, I went with my friend to see<i> This Must Be The Place</i>, a rather aimless film starring Sean Penn and David Byrne. It launched my friend into a protracted obsession with Byrne, whose richly varied musical career is still delighting her now - from slightly unnerving punk track 'Psycho Killer' to chart-pop sensation 'Lazy', Byrne has written something in almost every genre in the Western world, so I can understand why he'd retain amazement for so long. On <i>Love This Giant</i>, his release with St. Vincent, he draws on jazz, funk, ska and old-school minimalism by employing a full brass band to play pop songs, and the result sounds a lot like this: <p><center><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong3601209533" name="gsSong3601209533"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=36012095&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=36012095&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=David%20Byrne%20%26%20St.%20Vincent%20Who" title="Who by David Byrne &amp; St. Vincent on Grooveshark">Who by David Byrne &amp; St. Vincent on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object></center> <p>The band, a choreographed team of brass and woodwind musicians alongside a drummer and a keyboard player, broke into 'Who' as soon as Byrne had made his first wisecrack of the night. The Symphony Hall can prove too huge for a lot of rock and pop, voices and subtleties lost in the huge space, but Byrne and Clark's big-band tracks filled the room without hassle. As they worked their way through a two hour set, not even needing support bands to get everyone going, the crowd became more and more enthused, calling them on for two separate encores at the end. Here's the setlist: <p><center><div style="text-align: center;" class="setlistImage"><a href="http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/david-byrne-and-st-vincent/2013/symphony-hall-birmingham-england-53c67b21.html" title="David Byrne &amp; St. Vincent Setlist Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England 2013, Love This Giant" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=53c67b21" alt="David Byrne &amp; St. Vincent Setlist Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England 2013, Love This Giant" style="border: 0;" /></a> </center> <p>The instrumentation and songwriting on <i> Love this Giant</i> definitely leave David Byrne firmly in his old category as one of the established avant-garde, but that isn't necessarily a comfortable collocation. 'Avant-garde' is about newness, but also about rebellion and challenge to what's gone before. Seeing the album performed live, the level of choreography and onstage organisation made me yearn for spontaneity. On the one hand, David Byrne and St. Vincent make music which is genreless, music I couldn't really compare to anything else right now, yet the performance was all very establishment-friendly - it would never get a bad review in the <i>Guardian</i>, because it follows the rule book on "How to Break the Rules"; i.e., though it was musically thrilling and fresh, it was hosted at an elite venue, followed a rigidly traditional show structure, showcased new talent without challenging the supremacy of the "star", and accepted a formal set of dress codes for its line-up. From talking to people afterwards, it seemed that many people loved the show as much as the music, but I felt it could have been a little more surprising. Still, that's no reason to critique the show too heavily: it was brilliantly played, the musicians were likeable, the hall had perfect acoustics and it was nigh-on impossible to get bored. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I1yyi_ujfkg/UiE6wxenVGI/AAAAAAAAAYw/V7e4c4qy2Io/s1600/DSC_0778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I1yyi_ujfkg/UiE6wxenVGI/AAAAAAAAAYw/V7e4c4qy2Io/s320/DSC_0778.JPG" /></a></div><p>My favourite tracks of the night were 'Burning Down the House' and 'Cheerleader', written by Byrne and Clark respectively. The former got the whole audience dancing in the aisles, with a grand cheer rising from the hall as soon as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNnAvTTaJjM">these opening chords</a> rang out from the stage. The latter, 'Cheerleader', was excellently performed live, building up to an epic and memorable chorus which stuck in my mind long after the concert had ended. <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Sibv-RnJRUc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPxZmLjXByU/UiE-xmaVbQI/AAAAAAAAAZY/cOtKYQVJuI4/s1600/db+and+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPxZmLjXByU/UiE-xmaVbQI/AAAAAAAAAZY/cOtKYQVJuI4/s200/db+and+me.jpg" /></a></div> <p>It's great to hear David Byrne contributing new music to the world, but it was possibly <i>even better </i>to help my friend's dreams come true afterwards by (reluctantly) agreeing to stage-door the man himself. 90% of the crowd had come to the gig for David Byrne, but only about 1% turned up to meet him afterwards, and by the time he came out onto Broad Street (of all streets!), only about 0.5% remained. So we got a peremptory glance from David Byrne and a moment of his time. My friend was so excited that she did a little dance - our relationships with our heroes are unfathomable sometimes. Nevertheless, if you get the chance to see David Byrne or St. Vincent, they're really worth the trip out (and in my case, the grotty hotel). ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-64415000533992817332013-08-16T17:15:00.000-07:002013-08-16T17:18:52.171-07:00The lonely festival experienceThis year, I managed to get a ticket to the YNot festival in Derbyshire. It's an annual 'small' festival (with around 8,000 tickets) costing just under £80 for the weekend. When I was offered a ticket with the press, I searched far and wide for people to accompany me, visualising beautiful afternoons lounging in a campsite with six or seven of my favourite people, music playing in the background, the sky blue, etc. etc.. That scene was never to materialise - one by one, my friends either turned me down or dropped out after assessing their finances and schedules. Having promised an article to the Oxford Student newspaper, though, I realised I was going to have to go. Alone. <p>The lonely festival experience didn't really appeal to me. In fact, I was dreading it. I whittled my plans down so that I only had to go for one day, and I wrote some lines in my mind which I could use to approach, and then befriend, strangers. I climbed into the taxi which would take me to the site, feeling nervousness - I was going to conduct my first live, face-to-face, in-the-same-room interview. I also felt pre-emptive boredom though, seeing the day stretching out ahead of me like a desert of solitude. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMmEr0u-d-8/Ug62erSmlRI/AAAAAAAAAXA/4kjfL-q4aCY/s1600/the+mud+at+YNot+festival.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMmEr0u-d-8/Ug62erSmlRI/AAAAAAAAAXA/4kjfL-q4aCY/s320/the+mud+at+YNot+festival.JPG" /alt="Alternate Text"></a></div> <p>When I turned up, the festival was muddier than Sonisphere and Hard Rock Calling put together - every walkway was two feet deep, and every step felt like walking on the moon. Zero gravity mud. If I stood still for too long, I'd sink to my ankles, so I kept moving, finding my way to different tents. I've talked about the music and the atmosphere and stuff in <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/08/12/y-not-pick-it-over-glastonbury-in-2014/">my article</a> at the OxStu. The highlights of the smaller acts were the Anything Goes Orchestra, Emperor Chung and Elliott Morris, and disappointingly, there was no-one bad enough for me to use my cruel witticisms. "Never before have I heard a band so bad that the crowd were chanting 'less! less!' at the end of the show" had to stay in my head, where it probably deserves to be, until now. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmcHkk-a7ZE/Ug6_63XiFMI/AAAAAAAAAX8/64JJwT95scA/s1600/anything+goes+orchestra.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmcHkk-a7ZE/Ug6_63XiFMI/AAAAAAAAAX8/64JJwT95scA/s320/anything+goes+orchestra.JPG" /></a></div> <p>Once I'd wandered round, I started to get that bored feeling I'd anticipated. Standing in the VIP press area was kind of intimidating - sure, I could see the Jarman brothers talking in the backstage area, and it <i>was</i> awesome, but amongst the cool swaggering thirty-year-old men who were probably all from the NME, I felt unable to grin and cry "IT'S GARY JARMAN". Instead, I had to lean back and pretend that I encountered my heroes every day. Or even better, pretend I had no heroes, like the cynical bastards that are seasoned music journalists. And even then, I got a funny look from someone sitting in a press tent with an Apple Mac and headphones. I repeated to myself the mantra, "cynicism is just defensiveness", then attempted to be defensively cynical enough to fit in. <p>The boredom and discomfort made me seek out something else to do (or drink), but I was also getting a headache. I had to make the choice between cider and aspirin - I chose, after a long deliberation, a small drink and then a load of painkillers. Luckily, the ginger beer I chose was foul, so I decided to give it away - that'd be a good way to make friends, right? Little did I realise how hard it is, as an individual, to approach groups of strangers. They're all having too good a time, or they're too busy, or too drunk. In the end, I fobbed it off on a woman waiting for her friends at the portaloos and ran off, still alone. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6RhjAxFOU4Q/Ug63CFqGHuI/AAAAAAAAAXg/_5ueGi0Y8aY/s1600/The+Giant+Squid+stage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6RhjAxFOU4Q/Ug63CFqGHuI/AAAAAAAAAXg/_5ueGi0Y8aY/s320/The+Giant+Squid+stage.JPG" /></a></div> <p>After an hour or so, the better bands started to assuage my feeling of isolation, and I realised that actually, I was having quite a good time. At most festivals, I spend a lot of time worrying that the people around me aren't having fun, or considering when to broach the "Can we leave now? I need the loo and these guys are shit" topic. Here, I was totally free to leave when I stopped enjoying bands. I valued that freedom, but not as much as the freedom to eat two lunches without being judged. <P>There was another hiccup to come yet, though. I went to watch Sky Larkin, content in the knowledge that I was meeting them for an interview at 4.30pm after they'd been onstage. At 4.20, I nipped into the press area, envisaging a quick turnaround. I should have known that nothing is that simple. At 4.30, I saw Katie Harkin, the lead singer, emerge from the vans and run across the band area, but she didn't then come to meet me. I started wandering about, feeling lost, intimidated by the NME-men, and not nearly drunk enough to relax. It took 45 minutes for them to finally emerge, and then I realised I was in a queue. Feeling like I'd probably been forgotten, I sat in a VIP sun-lounger and tried not to look like an amateur. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-66RbhSZ6V90/Ug62qPsdPWI/AAAAAAAAAXI/vLN133JSFO0/s1600/Sky_Larkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-66RbhSZ6V90/Ug62qPsdPWI/AAAAAAAAAXI/vLN133JSFO0/s320/Sky_Larkin.jpg" /></a></div> <p>At last, Katie and Nestor, Sky Larkin's drummer, greeted me - their manager (who I think, but can't be sure, was Wichita's Gareth Dobson) shepherded them towards me in a paternal fashion, and I did the shaking of hands and smiling that I assumed I was meant to. We disappeared into a press "yurt" and had what turned out to be a very relaxed chat while sitting on the floor, which I wrote up into a proper interview <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/08/11/an-interview-with-sky-larkin/">here</a>. After that, I got a lot more comfortable. I'd had some human contact, done what I'd set out to do, and all that was left was to enjoy The Cribs. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rroCjTP26w4/Ug66oIxN0gI/AAAAAAAAAXs/dDwD2CwAdQg/s1600/DSC_0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rroCjTP26w4/Ug66oIxN0gI/AAAAAAAAAXs/dDwD2CwAdQg/s320/DSC_0709.JPG" /></a></div> <p>Ash gave a brilliant performance on the mainstage, playing and performing to a standard I hadn't expected (even if the lead singer does look like an Irish James Blunt), and then I waited for The Cribs, free to find my own favourite place in the crowd. As I wandered, searching for the best spot for combining jumping with a good sight-line, I was accosted by two incredibly drunk teenage boys. My mistake was humouring their attempts to dance around near me. A smile was too much encouragement. One of them approached me and asked "Who're you with?" I, not wanting to say, "Oh Lord I'm so alone", replied, "I'm with the press". Yes, I embraced nobbishness for a few seconds to raise myself above pity. Instead of the contempt I expected, he was so drunk he replied, "That's so cool", before falling over onto his friend and then attempting to turn the fall into a dance move. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jlUqsMB8uAI/Ug6262lObiI/AAAAAAAAAXY/uQNjPtVUt6U/s1600/DSC_0708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jlUqsMB8uAI/Ug6262lObiI/AAAAAAAAAXY/uQNjPtVUt6U/s320/DSC_0708.JPG" /></a></div> <p>I managed to back away behind someone with a beer belly dramatic enough to hide me (and/or shelter me if it rained). Human interaction, I'd decided, is overrated - I couldn't make friends in a few hours, and moreover, that was fine. Being alone was fine. I'd decided that when The Cribs came on and reminded me why I usually like human beings. They were fantastic - more cheerful than usual, beautifully discordant, as wild as they were ten years' ago, if not more so. Ryan's recent weightloss and depression have coloured his character: in his new diminutive form, he seems fragile, lending more meaning to tracks like 'Back to the Bolthole', and yet he's a more imposing figure for his new sharp, shadowy jawline and uninhibited screaming. The Cribs were always impressive, but ten years on, five studio albums in, their retention of the outsider spirit and the untamed sound is really admirable. The crowd loved them - they had people jumping and singing right back into the audience. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fyQEMdzpsvg/Ug62xuVMFvI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/c90P4_Wm2gc/s1600/The+Cribs+TheCribs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fyQEMdzpsvg/Ug62xuVMFvI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/c90P4_Wm2gc/s320/The+Cribs+TheCribs.jpg" /></a></div> <p>If anything, seeing my favourite band alone was better than seeing them with my friends. My relationship with The Cribs is too intense to share - it's a secular worship, the only worship I allow myself, and I always feel a little bit embarrassed to enjoy them wholeheartedly with friends watching. I want to jump and scream and yell and laugh, like a small child who's had too much sugar watching Disney. On my own, knowing that nobody judging me mattered, I had a great time, full of abandon. I realised as I walked into the night, searching for my taxi back, I'd actually enjoyed being alone. The lonely, sober festival experience had been... good. In fact, I think I recommend it. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-32393730998721928682013-07-24T13:15:00.003-07:002014-04-14T18:07:24.457-07:00Babyshambles release new (but all too familiar) material<center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/D89QL1XtMos" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>A couple of days ago, Babyshambles put a track from their upcoming album onto Youtube, 'Farmer's Daughter' from September's <i>Sequel to the Prequel</i>. This followed the unveiling of the new single, 'Nothing Comes to Nothing', their first single since 'You Talk' reached UK chart #54*, their lowest chart hit to date. This observation may seem superfluous, but the song's chart position was indicative of its low popularity within Babyshambles' fanbase: 2007's <i>Shotter's Nation</i>, produced by Stephen Street (who produced the slick indie of acts such as Blur, Kaiser Chiefs and The Ordinary Boys), disappointed original fans because of its cleanness - to a lot of people, it just sounded uninspired. I liked the second album, but 2004's <i>Down in Albion</i> has lingered in my affections for longer, not for its rawness of sound but for its rawness of emotion, its lyrical brashness and the way that the scanty production allowed the crack(s) to show through. Album Two was certainly lacking in something, though great tracks like 'There She Goes' and 'Carry on Up the Morning' made up for it. <p>The Youtube commentariat have already cast their vote on 'Nothing Comes to Nothing', and it looks like the disappointment surrounding <i>Shotter's Nation</i> might be up for a renewal. A commenter named Jordan Schmidt announced, "they really nailed that Generic-Indie-Rock﻿ sound", whilst Keith Lennox wrote "meh, it's okay,﻿ nothing more than that". A more moderate commentator suggested that "the middle of the road is nothing to shy away from". Most fans were crueller. "The old, classic and messy﻿ Babyshambles sold out", Jack Davies claims, and one typical voice asked "Where are the bum notes and the passion of the off key vocals..." A lot of those claiming to like the song sound like apologists, one summarising: "fuck man doherty has to make a﻿ living somehow". Quite. <p>Apologism in the music industry is hard to avoid. People get deeply emotionally involved with their favourite bands, and it's hard to let go and admit that the band you've invested in have made a bad album. Some adjust themselves rather than losing the bands - Youtube user BreckRoadLover21, who is clearly familiar enough with The Libertines to name him/herself after one of their earliest records, probably identifies with the band enough to take to their new, cleaner sound. Those who think that the middle of the road is better than the 'Side of the Road' are probably later fans, or fans who've grown out of their old punk spirit, and they're the type of listener that the Angry Young Men of 2004's audience almost certainly reject - would the old Doherty, the one who yelled "THEY'LL NEVER PLAY THIS ON THE RADIO" over 'Fuck Forever', have expected to attract fans who hum 'Delivery' while doing the dishes? <p><center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/S4GBliCFl0Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>'Farmer's Daughter' was perhaps a relief to more hard-line fans. Featuring Peter's stilted guitar playing - still slightly jarring to the unexpectant listener - the song is more like 'Carry on Up the Morning' than 'You Talk', but it's far from '8 Dead Boys' or 'La Belle et Le Bête'. Where are the reggae beats that hung behind 'Pentonville', or the disjointed guitars and uncoordinated vocals of 'Pipedown'? Some people are seeing this as Babyshambles' early decline. So many rock bands grow up and out of fame - rock 'n' roll was always a cult of youth, and stars like Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop, as well as clearly being exceptions to the rule, seem farcical next to the young bands. Whether it's fair or not is another question, but old rock musicians have to pass through the 'mocking' stage before they reach the Hall of Fame. Most never get there. <p>I don't know - sometimes I think that even I'm an apologist of sorts. I loved The Libertines, and Babyshambles, and Dirty Pretty Things (Hell! Even Yeti!) but recently, neither Carl Barât nor Pete Doherty seem to have been writing quality songs, and I'm losing faith in Pete as a lyricist in recent years. Perhaps the missing link in the last two Babyshambles album has been a driving, idiosyncratic guitarist - Mik Whitnall is a strong player, but his style belongs more in Oasis than a lo-fi once-punk band. <p>As a fan, I'm going to give <i>Sequel to the Prequel</i> a try when it comes out in September. The Youtube commenter who suggested "singles are meant to be commercial" might have put his finger on the problem with 'Nothing Comes to Nothing' - as a piece of songwriting, it's kind of generic, but I thought that about 'Killamangiro'; maybe it's too soon to judge the album. Then again, I think a lot of fans are expecting <i>Sequel to the Prequel</i> to be a little bit like the Damien Hirst artwork which adorns its cover - suddenly accepted into the establishment, the canon, and less interesting for it. <p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9wshM6BPLDs/UfAysIM-ZgI/AAAAAAAAAWE/g70nfpSEYJ4/s1600/BABYSHAMBLES_-_Sequel_To_The_Prequel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9wshM6BPLDs/UfAysIM-ZgI/AAAAAAAAAWE/g70nfpSEYJ4/s400/BABYSHAMBLES_-_Sequel_To_The_Prequel.JPG" /></a></div> <p><p>*'Side of the Road', released for Record Store Day 2010, didn't chart at all, but it was only released as a limited edition 7" vinyl.ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-47476854932707367232013-07-22T19:37:00.001-07:002013-07-22T19:38:16.120-07:00Kate Nash in 2013It's six years since Kate Nash released <i>Made of Bricks</i>, an album which inspired many critics to ask, "Is Kate Nash copying Lily Allen or is Lily Allen copying Kate Nash!?!?" It mattered as little then as it does now, but at least people have stopped asking - and Kate Nash isn't making the girly piano-pop that first provoked the comparison. This year, she released<i> Girl Talk</i>, a punkier, self-consciously wilder album than either of her others. From my perspective as a vague follower of her now defunct relationship with Crib Ryan Jarman, it sounds very much like a break-up album. She's done away with the pretty melodies and piano jingles and replaced them with Riot Grrrl bass and Kim Gordon-esque moaning - much more likely to divide opinion than anything on her first release. <p>When Nash released her second album, I was unimpressed. It was more <i>Made of Bricks</i>, only not as good. Listen to the first album's 'Shit Song', 'Dickhead', even the leading single 'Foundations', and you're faced with a barrage of beautifully targeted venom - though <i>Made of Bricks</i> was twee, it was also nicely bitter, and a breath of fresh air in amongst all 2007's sweet-as-pie female singer-songwriters who wouldn't swear for toffee. By contrast, 2010's <i>My Best Friend is You</i> was as subjectless as its title: she was happy, but her artistic bent seems to rely on a bit of anger. This year's album is definitely a testament to that. <p><center><iframe width="400" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pPl3b_u0Cs8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>Not only is Nash going round the world shouting the word 'feminist' from the rooftops (and no matter<a href="http://yourfaveisproblematic.tumblr.com/post/47740187703/kate-nash"> how problematic you think her feminism might be</a>, the very use of the word in popular discourse gives it fresh power), she's also making really great music. I didn't expect to be won back over to Kate Nash, but <i>Girl Talk</i> has probably done it. It's angry, and 'feminist', and so bitter. The video above, I think, targets the album's two main bugbears: sexism and The Ex. <p><blockquote>If I wanna talk, I’ll call, <p>but in the mean time thanks for all <p>the public displays of affection. <p>I know you’re tryna to get my attention. <p>Trashy, cheap talk magazines. <p>While I stay classy, you stain jeans. <p>You’re coming over all my friends. <p>Oh, thank Heavens it’s the end.</blockquote> <p>These aren't poésie, but who wants poésie in punk anyway (Doherty aside)? If she were talking about Jarman, and I'm just hypothesising here like a trashy cheap-talk magazine, then it would make sense - after all, Exclamation Pony, Jarman's new band (cofronted by Jen Turner, Nash's close friend), <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/68805">have been known to end raucous sets with onstage snogging</a>, and Jarman <i>does</i> stain a lot of jeans. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QkHb6LI3j0w/Ue3rWMKJM8I/AAAAAAAAAV0/Q4eatIGu8ng/s1600/jeans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QkHb6LI3j0w/Ue3rWMKJM8I/AAAAAAAAAV0/Q4eatIGu8ng/s320/jeans.jpg" /></a></div> <p>Escaping the realm of gossip though, I think it's a brilliantly put-together song. It builds up gradually, developing its melodies and harmonies, and the production is first-rate: the guitar sound and dual vocal effect make it a real divergence from earlier albums. <p>Though Nash's move into the punk sound shouldn't distract us from bands who've done feminism much more violently and more punkily, bands like Bikini Kill, Hole, The Slits and Russia's Pussy Riot, I consider it a step in the right direction, both musically and lyrically. I'm sure there have been some critics (and will be more) who condemn Nash for trying to find a niche, trying to 'play' at being a rock star, to overstep the bounds of her formerly twee, sweet sound, but I'm going to ignore those critics. Judging from this excerpt from <a href="http://www.run-riot.com/articles/blogs/interview-katie-antoniou-joins-kate-nashs-girl-gang">an interview</a>, that's just what she's doing: <blockquote><p>Interviewer: When you released some of your new work you got quite a strong reaction; is it hard not to take it personally when people are critical? <p>Kate Nash: Well I found it quite enjoyable actually this time round, it created such a stir when I released 'Underestimate the Girl', that was sort of the point - everyone plays it so safe and no-one wants to mess with the rules, and all the reactions kind of proved me right. So that was exciting to watch and just as an experiment - seeing how people react negatively when somebody does something different. I think its good to make people feel uncomfortable sometimes.</blockquote> <p>If it makes music like <i>Girl Talk</i>, it certainly is. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-23077676086974565542013-05-25T06:33:00.000-07:002013-05-25T06:33:29.586-07:00Early Blur acousticHere's a treat for you, ladies and gents, from the depths of Youtube. I've never seen an acoustic performance in front of such a huge audience. <center><iframe width="410" height="308" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/M4NgQIWGJHU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-32161650914640371472013-05-21T09:24:00.000-07:002013-05-21T09:24:53.297-07:00Drew McConnell and some thoughts on coversOkay, so I interviewed Drew McConnell of Babyshambles fame a few weeks ago. He is the mastermind behind Helsinki, the band I was raving about a few posts ago. Below is the link to it. He's a great guy. <p><a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/04/25/sounds-from-coast-of-silence/">Read the full interview here.</a> <p>I've also recently <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/05/16/still-movin-on-up/">reviewed Primal Scream's new album</a>, which has reminded me how awesome <i>Screamadelica</i> is. The last two weeks has unfolded with the internal soundtrack of "I was blind, and now I see! You made a believer out of me!" <p>I've also been listening, in contrast, to jazz pianist Jamie Cullum. In the past, I've always seen him as a wasted talent, a really talented player with a good voice, working in a dynamic and interesting genre, yet still singing songs barely better than Michael Bublé's. However, his cover of Rihanna's 'Don't Stop the Music' from 2009 is awesome, and stumbling across it recently made me have a rethink. <P><center><iframe width="450" height="253" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S0z1Mo7O6dE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>I went on a Cullum marathon afterwards, still unsure of my feelings towards him more generally; it kind of renewed my former opinions of him. He's a real talent, but he often chooses to cover old jazz standards in a fairly conventional way. Still, the above video impressed me, and it got me thinking about how good Rihanna's song-writers are. <p> Rihanna's been accepted into the sphere of bland, hyper-sexualised chart pop, presenting the world with ever-more ephemeral dancefloor-fillers and pained ballads. I actually quite like her voice, but I think the way it's autotuned and produced makes the final tracks hard to enjoy. I'm also a bit awkward about her stage persona, and the lyrics and attitudes that go with it on tracks like 'S&M'. But consistently, when I hear her tracks covered, I love them: I was even enthused by the cheesy, country version of 'Cheers (Drink to That)' by the cast of <i>Smash!</i>. <p><center><iframe width="450" height="253" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gP8EbK_8A0E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>At the risk of alienating any music afficionados (read: snobs), Rihanna's music is growing on me, but only if it's performed by someone else. I have the same issue, perhaps more unusually, with the Smiths. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-8726531125572589392013-03-08T17:23:00.000-08:002013-05-27T16:54:07.642-07:00tUnE-yArDsThree years ago, I reviewed the single <a href="http://thefourohfive-production.herokuapp.com/review/article/tune-yards-real-live-flesh">'Real Live Flesh'</a> by tUnE-yArDs, from the album <i>BiRd-BrAiNs</i> (using formatting that the website no longer supports, if you're wondering). I gave the song 7.5/10 - a decent but hardly ecstatic response. I then forgot about it, wrapped up in early 00s indie and post-punk, not enormously compatible with the afro-beat-style jazziness of tUnE-yArDs; I re-discovered them recently after finding 'Real Life Flesh' on Youtube coincidentally, and realising how great it was. Since their first album, tUnE-yArDs have released a second, <i>whokill</i> (a different, but comparable, affront to grammar). However much of a challenge it is to remember the stylised spelling of their releases, it's worth seeing past the indier-than-thou typography of tUnE-yArDs, because musically, they're brilliant. <p><i>whokill</i> follows the same essential patterns as <i>BiRd-BrAiNs</i>, but they've developed the production and perhaps a slightly higher quality of songwriting since 2009. The stylish experimentalism and ingenuity of <i>whokill</i> is not to everyone's taste, but I think that they develop particularly strongly-attached fans. Tracks like 'My Country' are so vibrant that it's hard to respond to them unemotionally. <p>Though an exploration of their other material uncovers some similar gems, 'Real Live Flesh' is still one of my favourite tracks of all time. One of its main charms is its self-deprecating lyrics. <blockquote>I'm not your fantasy girl. <p>I'm not your fantasy love. <p>I'm not your fantasy flesh <p>That fits you like a tight glove.</blockquote><p><object width="250" height="40" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="gsSong2752684162" name="gsSong2752684162"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=27526841&style=wood&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=27526841&style=wood&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=tUnE-YaRdS%20Real%20Live%20Flesh" title="Real Live Flesh by tUnE-YaRdS on Grooveshark">Real Live Flesh by tUnE-YaRdS on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object><p>The song <i>is</i> about sex; in that sense, it doesn't challenge any norms. However, when was the last time you heard a woman singing a sexy song in which she's not deemed perfect, gorgeous or beautiful? Flesh is taboo; fat is demonised. In the real world, the world beyond simulacra, people can respond sexually to non-fantasy bodies; non-porn bodies; bodies which aren't 'perfect'. I see 'Real Live Flesh' as a song about accepting deficiency and yet still feeling empowered to enjoy sex - not being an ideal, yet still having the sexual confidence to suggest you'll be good in bed. The woman in 'Real Live Flesh' is definitely female (she doesn't take on a 'male' role or anything like that) but she takes the initiative; she makes offering sex an act of self-assurance, not submission. It's almost unique - songs about female sexuality tend to be much more passive than this - "LOOK AT ME" songs, or "TOUCH ME" songs. Alternatively, they're about self-esteem more generally, about trying to find your own beauty - 'Born This Way' (Gaga) or 'Ugly' (Sugababes), for instance. In my opinion, trying to get people without symmetrical faces to think they're pretty is not the most useful response to mass beauty culture; we need to offer ways to transcend physical attractiveness as the core criterion of value. 'Real Live Flesh' is what I listen to when I want to remind myself of the possibilities of escaping the "beauty=worth" trap. <p>If you like that track, here's a great live session showcasing a few tracks from <i>whokill</i> - with visuals this time! <p><center><iframe width="380" height="214" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c8FML8QhcZo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>One annoying type of response to tUnE-yArDs is a response to the appearance of the lead singer. People always defend her against such ignorance, which is nice - after all, her voice is exceptional; she clearly has her preferences the right way round. But I still come up against something, even while trying to forget appearances. When a woman self-consciously avoids presenting herself like a pop-star, choosing not even to wear make-up onstage, then do you mention it? What's more, what if she doesn't dress up, lose weight, dance in a feminine way? I have a problem here because to normalise something, you have to try and make a point of ignoring it. I'd love it if women felt they didn't have to do these things to be musicians. Then again, I am endlessly intrigued by Garbus' reception in the real world, by fans, by her record company. Is she making a statement, or does she genuinely not feel affected by the same pressures as other musicians? Are pressures increasing as she gets more famous and popular? How would she react to a full make-over for a photo shoot (something which is accepted practice in the music industry, which you'd really have to work to refuse)? Basically, what is it like being a woman that doesn't follow some of the implicit rules about being stereotypically appealing? <p>When I ask these questions, and want to find the answers, I face a barrier: if she doesn't raise it, it can't be raised, because to ask the question would be akin to asking, "So, why don't you try to be attractive?" And even when it's deliberate, and lots of people notice she isn't complying with the usual rules, the question is inappropriate, and would come over petty, sniping, ignorant. I hope that one day someone has the tenacity and moderation to ask the questions in a friendly, comfortable way - or that she offers a response herself. As you can infer from <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7957-tune-yards/">this interview</a>, she'd probably have a well-worded answer. <p>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-55321328897293023172013-03-04T13:25:00.000-08:002013-03-04T16:09:55.538-08:00This month's round-upI haven't been around to post whimsy this month, so here's a round-up of the music I'm proffering for your enjoyment. <p>1)<b> Django Django</b><p>Yep, I know Django Django are getting to be irritating: whilst not exactly 'old' news, they are 'particularly-hyped-news-that-we've-heard-enough-about' at the moment. If you haven't heard them, Django Django make playful pop-rock laced with nice harmonies, and it's youthful in a way that's hard to pin down. <p><center><iframe width="300" height="169" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JQGTORbJgB4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>2) <b>Radiohead</b><p>Another band you've heard too much from - Radiohead have been the object of sustained hype for two decades now. When will they run out of steam? We just can't know. <i>King of Limbs</i> is an awesome an album as <i>In Rainbows</i>, and in my opinion, both of them are improvements on their 90s prog-indie. Over the last few releases, they've perfected the no-mood musical nihilism that puts all the world into perspective; you don't have to be miserable to listen to Radiohead anymore. <p><center><iframe width="300" height="169" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NfuXyRFMV4Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>(I tried to find you a nice proper video but the only live ones didn't have anything on the album version.) <p>3) <b>Neutral Milk Hotel</b><p>Another 90s band I'm late to add to this blog, but an awesome one worth writing about anyway. I've been entranced by 'Oh Comely'; it has a beautiful suspension in the chord progression, simple and elegant, and it grows into something wondrous. <p><center><iframe width="300" height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6doB7ZRtQJw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>(By contrast, I think this does the song perfect justice.)ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-38807469556541952442013-01-18T12:32:00.001-08:002014-04-14T18:14:30.220-07:00Julian Casablancas WhimsyI know I'm always criticising over-production, but I want to make it clear with a simple example how important I think production is. Lovely as Julian Casablancas is, I am SO glad that this: <iframe width="400" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/E9fp_lSeIjk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><P>Turned into this: <p><iframe width="400" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ev5RMiujiQE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><p>And while we're on Jules whimsy, doesn't Adam Green look like Julian Casablancas' underachieving little bro? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_linff0S4KU1qak721o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="530" width="360" src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_linff0S4KU1qak721o1_500.jpg" /></a></div> ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-88921658668737516042013-01-12T19:48:00.000-08:002013-01-12T19:48:58.928-08:00I have something lovely for youWriting about Pete Doherty for the last post got me thinking about Babyshambles, which got me thinking about whether Drew McConnell, the Babyshambassist, was making any music of his own again yet. And he is! If I haven't mentioned it often enough, Drew's in a small project called Helsinki, a band which has recorded tracks for Love Music Hate Racism amongst other things, and played a few gigs here and there too. Below is the director's interviews for the track 'Ampersand', a 2010 obsession of mine. <p><center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/D_NVka2ysXY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>And no post on Helsinki would be complete without posting this frankly unmissable track's video. 'Ribtickling' is, oddly, my most ever played track on last.fm. Ever. Somehow, it's beating everything by Sonic Youth, Bright Eyes, Reuben, The Libertines... I don't know how I racked up so many plays, but see if you can tell why. <p><center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pOCpdSlWxJc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>Drew has a good voice, idiosyncratic, and if you've ever wondered who's keeping Pete's vocals on track with perfectly sung backing vocals on any of Babyshambles' material, well, it's Drew McConnell. Drew's now releasing some tracks he recorded after a bad accident which broke a few of his bones last year. He's running it alongside a little art project, but the best bit about it is, of course, the music. Tender, reserved, unassuming acoustic music as it is, he's releasing some really nice songs which I strongly recommend. The most recent is this one, 'The Last Boy Alive', which I think has a really subtly gorgeous melody and a touch of that familiar bitter-sweetness I so love. <p><center><iframe width="300" height="100" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 300px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1251473655/size=grande/bgcol=dcfdce/linkcol=ea8210/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"><a href="http://drewmcconnellshelsinki.bandcamp.com/track/the-very-last-boy-alive">The Very Last Boy Alive by Drew McConnell's Helsinki</a></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-32817007949609526012013-01-04T19:12:00.000-08:002013-01-04T19:13:17.628-08:00The Best Pete Doherty Lyrics"Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." If the saying holds water, then Pete Doherty is the best of artists - from his lyrics to the stuff in his bandmate's flat, Doherty has been a nicker all his working life. Sources state he got offered a place doing English at Oxford Uni, others say the University of London, but either way, it would explain his penchant for putting literary references into his songs - 'A'rébours', Blake's 'Albion', 'Love on the Dole' etc. Recently, he's stolen someone else's career choices. He's made a <i>film</i>, as if to try and out-do Carl Barât in the world of cinema. The two performances (Barât's in <i>Telstar</i> and Doherty's in new film <i>Confession d'un Enfant du Siècle</i>) have little between them as far as terrible delivery of lines is concerned; the key difference is that Pete attempts a leading role. The reviews have ranged from confused to distraught. Watch the trailer below and see if you can work out what it's about. <p><center><iframe width="450" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Dy-aVNRA-DM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p>In a recent interview for The Guardian, Pete Doherty confessed to possibly <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/02/pete-doherty-heroin-paris-film">falling for his own mythology</a> back when he was doing drugs in Camden. Isn't the past tense a bit bold there? Making a French film?! 'What a waster', the world says, except for a few little voices cooing 'he's a sweetie really!', because as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2008/may/06/pete.doherty.jail">this video</a> from when he was released from prison in 2008 demonstrates, the sweetie is sweet from time to time. Look at his little face when he asks the nazi paparazzi if they want to see his journals! <blockquote><P><i>Cruel nasty journalist (mockingly)</i>: What does it contain? <p><i>Sweetie Petey: </i>Forts... drorins... <p>... (Pete shows the world a 'Segregation Unit Certificate') </blockquote> <p>Anyway, I digress. What with his stealing and his strange recent past, Doherty's excellent song-writing can sometimes become lost in the throes of speculation and judgment. Several years ago, I knew him as a 'tabloid whipping-boy' well before I'd heard his voice - a voice which is not the strong point of his music, but idiosyncratic to say the least. What's important is often what that voice is saying. Not many musicians bother writing poetry, whether it's heavily influenced by someone else or not. Here's a run-down of my top five gems. <p><b>'Up the Bracket'</b><p>Now, it should be mentioned that pretty much all of these tracks were co-written. But, if you compare the lyrics of The Libertines, Doherty and Barât's project, to those of Barât's solo lyrics, it seems clear that most of the good stuff should be attributed to Pete. Since he put pen to paper, Pete's been penning good songs - sometimes. He has definite off-days, but the day he wrote 'Up the Bracket' was not one of them. The title track of their first album, it showcases a little anecdote about Pete being chased by a couple of serious baddies for a friend's address. <blockquote>I saw two shadow men on the Vallance Road <p>said they'd pay me for your address. <p>Oh I was so bold...</blockquote><p>In three lines, he sets up all the suspense a good story needs. What did he do? What did he do? <p><blockquote>I said "you see these two cold fingers? <p>These crooked fingers? <P>They'll show you the way" - <P>to mean 'no'.</blockquote>It's great. We get the recounting of an 'oh so bold' reply, of weedy Pete giving them the sign - the sign they should fuck off. The story goes on though, with warm anecdotal flair, <p><blockquote>Well they didn't like that much I can tell you, <p>said "sunshine, I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes". <P>They chased me up two flights of stairs, <p>caught me in the lift. I sighed and said <p>"Hello", but you're impossible.</blockquote><p>This little scene is perfectly imaginable. Not quite sure what he means by the final lines, but they're expressed with a suitable sigh of futility. It's a good track because, let's face it, we've all heard more love songs than we'd like to shake a stick at, and this is romanticised but totally different from the boring generic love songs constantly played elsewhere. <p><b>'Can't Stand Me Now'</b><p><i>Up the Bracket</i> was The Libertines' first album, and all the peace and joy went downhill from there. The light-hearted punk-rock gave way by the time their self-titled second release was made - to self-absorption and harrowing suffering, mostly. Tracks like 'Narcissist' are attempts at recreating the fast-paced carelessness of album number one, but the album gets its fame from the heartache it clearly represents - and discusses, in raw and often very painful detail. 'Can't Stand Me Now' is one of The Libs' most famous tracks, and its lyrics were penned in France when Carl and Pete reunited after Peter's first spell in prison. The first verses are golden: <p><blockquote>An ending fitting for the start, <p>you twist and tore our love apart. <p>Your light fingers through the dark <p>shattered the lamp, into darkness you cast us.</blockquote><P>The first question - is the song about Carl and Pete themselves? It's a question loaded with significance, because the key to the second Libs album for a lot of people is its romance, the way it bares its heart to the world - raw emotion usually so detached and unfamiliar in songs is thrust into the light by the fact we know the story. The magic of these lyrics in particular is that they open the album, with 'an ending', looking back, prophesying the band's untimely break-up. Barât appears to be singing to Doherty, attacking him, blaming him for shattering the lamp of their lives, casting them into darkness. It's traditional imagery but it's well-phrased. <p>But lo, Pete replies: <blockquote><p>No, you've got it the wrong way round, <p>you shut me up and blamed it on the brown. <P>Cornered, the boy kicked out at the world... <p>the world kicked back, a lot fuckin' harder now.</blockquote><p>This clearly refers to Barât, destroying the mystery; Barât had Doherty sent to prison in 2004 for breaking into his flat. Pete suggests that it was Carl's fault - 'you shut me up' - and then that Carl tried to shrug the blame by saying it was Pete's drug use causing the problems. The way they immortalise the deadlock of their disagreement is brave - to air their dirty laundry is either a blatant cashing-in on the romance of their story, or songwriting which breaks down the usual boundaries between private and public, the personal lives of the artists and the analytical gaze of the outside world. (Only your personal feeling about the band will determine which angle you take on that.) Doherty turns to some poetic phrasing to give his verse oomph: 'cornered', he begins, placing himself as the passive victim where Barât's verse had been so accusatory. But then he confesses - he did kick, and he got a suitably colloquial kick back. These verses capture both his victim complex and a wry understanding of the way everyone else sees it. As well as being as catchy as Hell, 'Can't Stand Me Now' is a lyrical corpse preserved in formaldehyde, a neat description of the cataclysmic fatal domestic. <p><b>'8 Dead Boys'</b><p>After The Libertines broke up for what seemed like it would be forever, Pete ran off and wrote some blisteringly mean songs about Barât. The first Babyshambles album is a constant two fingers at Carlos; "Shoop d'lang d'lang", Pete echoes from 'What Katie Did', parodying the innocent friendliness of that Libertines track; "Don't look back into the motherfucking sun" he cries on 'Sticks & Stones', a more obvious reference; one of the songs is even called 'What Katy Did Next', using the convenient literary sequence to move on from The Libs - to open the next book. <p>'8 Dead Boys' is a particularly vicious track, a masterpiece in sparse punk - here's a great live version. <p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oprbVNPAz5M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><p>My favourite lines are at the start of the second verse, and go <blockquote><p>If you stop your moaning then they'll give you a taster <p>They'll give you a line and then call you a waster. <p>Don't. <p>You say you will then you won't. <p>Either you do or you don't - do or you don't.</blockquote><p>It's true that the painful, gut-wrenching screams of the song nail home its mood, but these lines encapsulate it too. That taster/waster couplet is another example of Pete placing blame for his way of life on someone else. Pete addresses the audience - it could happen to you, <i>you</i> my friend, that if you go to 'them', whoever they are (we assume his old band, with whom his drug-taking got real), they'll offer you drugs and then accuse <i>you</i> of being the waster. Yes, friends, <i>you</i>. The 'don't' is Doherty's final remark on the matter; he then switches. The 'you' is no longer a cover for himself, an attempt to pull the audience into sympathy; the 'you' assumes the role of the 'they', I think - he addresses his drug-providing pals - don't, because you're unreliable, you lie, and this is your last chance. It's partly appealing because of its rhymes, but I also like its vagueness; he wrote these in a journal or on a scrap piece of paper and they've stayed in tact. That's how it feels. Then he yells, "When it suits you you're a friend of mine", implying that when it doesn't suit them, they're not. Accusatory, angry, powerfully raw - it's what punk used to be about, only more... self-centred. <p><b><i>Shotter's Nation</i></b><p>Album number two brought a much less bitter and more stable range of lyrics into Babyshambles' fans' lives. Personally, I think the album, whilst it is beautifully produced and has some lovely tracks on it, lacks lyrically. It has a few good lines on though, like 'Carry on Up the Morning''s <P><blockquote>In the morning where does all the pain go? <p>Same place the fame goes - straight to your head</blockquote>which is gorgeously easy to empathise with, and witty to boot. Then, there's 'Delivery', with <blockquote>I'm fucked, forlorn, frozen beneath the summer. <p>Don't sing along or you'll get what I got</blockquote><p>a grim warning to his fans, telling them off for going to see him play in a cage, which the whole world calls a stage. And then perhaps the denaturalised cliché of 'There She Goes': <blockquote><p>How could I let go? <p>Since I caught a glimpse of your white plimsoles <p>twisting and turning to Northern Soul. <p>Just one glance, everybody knows.</blockquote><P>I love these, and this album, but like sub-plots in a novel, they don't seem to stick to the story of Pete's life. He has every right to write songs which are about things other than his mighty rise and fall, of course, and he writes great tracks nevertheless, supported by a strong band (even if walk-out guitarist Pat of the first album was a more individual player than this album's Mik). <P><b>'New Love Grows on Trees'</b><p>And finally, Doherty's solo album. Soft and delicate, it's possibly called 'growing up', only as with most maturing, the lyrics get duller, less impassioned... nostalgic, self-consciously 'British', lots of these songs are sweet and about nothing. Last of the English Roses has a few little crackers in it - "Round the snooker table, you dance the Frutti-Tutti. She almost spilled her lager toasting girls of great beauty" is a nice rhyme, for example, if a little laboured. The magic comes in a song he wrote years before. It is summoned for this release, possibly because its warm reminiscing fits with the character of the album. Peter gently sings, <blockquote><p>Are you still talking to <p>all of those dead film stars, like you used to? <p>And are you still thinking of <p>all of those pretty rhymes and perfect crimes <p>like you used to?</blockquote>I don't know why I love these lyrics so much - they just seem to conjure up appealing images, especially of the talking to dead film stars, an endearing quirk in the person the song is written for, whoever it may be. The simple internal rhyme of 'rhymes' and 'crimes' is nice too, just aesthetically. Though the lyrics are very simple, they have an undercurrent of something a bit darker - it's that repetition of 'like you used to' that does it, like a cruel reference to better times, or times when the pair were better acquainted. It's also impatient; as he later says, if you are still doing these things, "you really don't have to". <p>The album version is absolutely gorgeous, but it seems appropriate to post this vid, what with its array of pictures of the guy I've spent a good thousand words talking about, so enjoy. <p><center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ChmTCRd3DhU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><p>I just hope Pete can recover his writing talent and release some new material, be it with the Babyshambles team or alone. 'Genius' is too strong a word, in my opinion, as perhaps even is 'poet', but Pete Doherty has released some invigorating and wonderful tracks in his time, and some superb lyrics. And he isn't cut out for acting - hopefully the reviews will drive him back into the studio. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-82539136268402959072012-12-30T07:31:00.000-08:002014-04-14T18:24:47.404-07:002012 according to last.fmThis year, my once perfect relationship with last.fm has been rocky - it stopped adding my iPod plays to my music charts, and I moved out and forgot about it for a while, so my last.fm page doesn't really represent my music listening these days. Still, here's what it says were my top albums in 2012. <p>At the top is Portishead, reflecting the grim few months I had listening to <i>Dummy</i>. It's a great album, but if you're listening to it without drugs, you're probably not in a great mood. <p>Then, of course, coming in next is <i>Paralytic Stalks</i>, of Montreal's second-to-last release - a mind-blowingly good album. The first song I heard from it, 'Spiteful Intervention', arrived in my life at the perfect time, but even without that, I think I would have fallen in love with it. Wildly experimental, the whole album sounds like a man vomiting out his soul, gradually, starting with the bilious complaint of 'Gelid Ascent' and gradually spewing up every negative and unsustainable emotion he's ever felt towards a lover, ending with the bitter after-spasms of 'Authentic Pyrric Remission'. Thanks to <i>Paralytic Stalks</i>, I went and found <i>False Priest</i> and <i>Skeletal Lamping</i>, both awesomely crazy albums, but <i>Stalks</i> remains my favourite. There's a depth of darkness there which takes the absurdity out of the sound effects; the earlier albums lack that, and so they're emotionally tiring. Still worth a listen though. And a dance. <p>Then there's the project of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, <i>One of my Kind</i>, the new album. I wrote about it recently on here but it deserves another plug. Oberst said in an interview once that his Bright Eyes material was usually made mostly in the studio, messing with sounds, whereas the Mystic Valley Band run through with much more of a live focus, recording together, and so you get a different listening experience from the two projects. I like the Mystic Valley Band's output - it may be less analysable than Bright Eyes' music, but it's very listenable. <p>Lee Ranaldo and The Cribs are, of course, also in amongst my most-listened - both albums are atmospheric, though for different reasons - <i>Between the Times and the Tides</i> is rich with Ranaldo's warm guitar and vocals, whereas<i> In the Belly of the Brazen Bull</i> is violent, raw, unhappy, but provides an escape from reality in much the same way, though into a greyer, more desolate realm. <p>I've also been listened to the old favourites - Reuben, Bright Eyes, Mother Mother and Belle and Sebastian appear (I can't stop listening to <i>Tigermilk</i> for some reason) and a couple of artists I hadn't given much attention before - most notably No Doubt and Joan Armatrading. <p>I recommend all of the above, and say to anyone who reads this - Happy New Year, and have a safe journey into the post-apocalyptic world of 2013. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-56731170823561649572012-12-25T04:19:00.000-08:002012-12-25T04:20:03.442-08:00Merry ChristmasBest underdog love song I've heard today. <center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EChd0L3xutE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>Happy Christmas, mélomen!ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-50583409308134602862012-12-06T17:08:00.000-08:002012-12-06T17:15:32.266-08:00Some more samplersSo! I'm finally back from university - I was not as distracted from music as I expected (in fact, music distracted me from the prolonged suffering of essay-writing) but I've not really had the chance to blog it much, so here goes. I've been listening to: <p><b>1) Belle and Sebastian</b><p>I finally got round to buying <i>The Boy with the Arab Strap</i>, an album which was conspicuously missing from my B&S collection, and yes, it does deserve the acclaim. It's as subtle as <i>Tigermilk</i> but the songs are possibly a bit catchier. 'Simple Things' is the song that really stands out for me for now - it's a disappointingly short track, but for its grand 1 minute 46, it's dreamy. The simple melody can pass you by on first listen, but there's an undercurrent (or overtone, haven't worked out which) of incredible melancholy, hinted at in the slightly off-kilter strum at exactly 0:56 on the video below, and in the lines <p><blockquote>If you want me, I'll be there <p>A boy to deal with all your problems, <p>But part of the deal <p>Is for you to feel something.</blockquote><p>The way the melody and timing hit that 'feel something' suggests a bitterness, a darkness below the sweet melody that Belle and Sebastian are so perfect at capturing. I've loved this song, along with the album's title track, for weeks, and as I expected, the whole album hasn't stopped improving, even though it wasn't as invigorating as <i>The Life Pursuit</i> on first play. <p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7bU-rToNzU8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p><b>2) PJ Harvey</b><p>Another icon that I've found late in the game. A few years ago, I borrowed <i>White Chalk</i> from a library, which I still revive sometimes when I'm a little sad or tired, but I'd never happened across her slightly harder rock before. I found <i>Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea</i> in HMV for £3, almost as much of a success as finding Conor Oberst's new release in the same sale. It's a great album, if you haven't found it yet. Highlights for me are 'Big Exit', the opener (on which Harvey sometimes sounds so like Kim Gordon that I forget who I'm listening to), 'This Wicked Tongue' and the atmospheric 'Beautiful Feeling'. The opening line of 'Beautiful Feeling' and Thom Yorke's ghostly moans kept me company on a late-night train ride - "sometimes I can see for miles" - chasing me into a lovely warm feeling of significance. Occasionally her lyrics let her down, in my opinion - 'This is Love' would be great, for instance, if it weren't for the stilted "I can't believe life's so complex, when I just wanna sit here and watch you undress!" that begins it, which really isn't powerful enough to be yell-sung the way it is. Still, I know you wanna see her doing her best Rolling Stones strut. <p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/STxXS5lLunE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p><b>3) Mother Mother</b><p>Why? You're asking. Why do you only give us music we've heard before? Well, I'm sorry. I write this as I find things, not as they come out. I always think it's really disappointing that most blogs and sites are always about new music, or old classics - it leaves gems buried, where they don't deserve to be, and airs all today's decaying carbon. However, sometimes, I do post about something new - and this is one band around at the moment that I love. Mother Mother have a new album out this year, their fourth studio production, and it is a natural progression from the last, <i>Eureka!</i>, one of the two albums I <a href="http://http://thefourohfive.com/review/article/mother-mother-eureka">ever gave 9/10 on The 405</a>. Whilst it hasn't quite grabbed me like <i>Eureka!</i> did, <i>The Sticks</i> is still great - I just had sky-high expectations. It's still rock-pop, still less insightful than anything self-proclaimed 'artists' would like to put out, but it's also catchy and stylish, perfectly constructed to get you dancing and grinning. If you don't like the song below, I encourage you to listen to 'Dread in my Heart', which is very different, a lot less pop-rocky, but also characteristic Mother Mother. 'The Sticks' is a good example of their darker tracks, more along the lines of 'Oleander' or 'Born in a Flash' on their last album. I hope they tour in the UK at some point. <p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/P3IUeFlJpE0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p><b>4) Rodrigo y Gabriela</b><p>And now for something completely different! My lovely partner sent me some albums in the post from Aberdeen, one of which was a gorgeous recent record by Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. - it's a stunningly-played album on which the virtuoso musicians try their hand at a ridiculous range of genres. Semi-Latin piece 'Logos' is goddamn beautiful, but for a more intense listen, try album-opener 'Santo Domingo' with its crazy catch-me-if-you-can guitar. For a taste of the Cuban in C.U.B.A., however, I'm going to post wonderful 'Juan Loco', which sounds like some magical clash between James Bond and the PC game 'Tropico'. <p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IA3_CYdxdJw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> That's all for now, folks. Keep tuned in though. This year's been great for music, for me and for the wider world. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-19730784638176664022012-10-26T13:01:00.000-07:002012-10-26T13:10:01.796-07:00More Conor OberstJust an update - I am now writing for the music section of the Oxford Student newspaper, so if you ever manage to get your hands on a copy, or fancy <a href="http://oxfordstudent.com/2012/10/26/talking-points-are-music-awards-still-relevant/">clicking here</a>, you can see me in 'print'! It's almost certainly irrelevant to you because you've probably happened across this page by unfortunate accident... however, the topic's quite fun: are music awards still relevant? Do music awards have any legitimate gravity in the indie and rock world? Hear me thrash my editor at the link above. Plug over. <p>I didn't only start this post purely to link you to more of me - I intended only to post this awesome video. I found this album for £3 in the HMV sale in Oxford today. Pretty cool. <p><center><iframe width="400" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cYvWHqYNdUY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350453471366017880.post-1702373277026404712012-08-25T16:43:00.001-07:002012-08-25T16:44:12.071-07:00Desaparecidos are back!10 years ago, Conor Oberst and pals formed a band called Desaparecidos for one passionate, political album. They then gracefully retired into their respective projects, Oberst having said all he had to say at the time about the ridiculousness of fashion, destructive 'progress', materialism and the lie of the American dream. Oberst has always been fairly political, standing up for the rights of Mexicans in the southern states recently, and publicly supporting Obama in the last election. <p>Now, the band affectionately termed Desa are back, because let's face it, things haven't got much better. New track 'MariKKKopa' was inspired by the comments of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who recently said it was 'an honour' to be compared to the KKK because it 'means you're doing something'. I have to say, if anything were to inspire me to get a political band together, ridiculous comments like that in my home nation would definitely help. The song, below, is a return to form - straight back in with the angry vocals, speaking through the voice of an all-American racist. <p><center><iframe width="400" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pC2m2IzHPVU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <p> They've also released another track, 'Backsell', which has more ambiguous lyrics but seems to be about the shallowness and cruelty of the fame industries in the US. It's a great reinvigoration - good political music is quite difficult to find at the moment; there's been no great political musical movement in a while. Indie folk mostly wants to tell us about itself, pop wants to tell us about its lovers, rap wants to tell us about its sex life, emo and post-punk want to tell us about their break-ups and kick-ass parties, and screamo... who the Hell knows what that wants to tell us? Hearing new and revived bands making a stand will always be heart-warming to anyone with a revolutionary bone in them. ItMustBeKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10991361698315037907noreply@blogger.com0